A bridging loan in Singapore is short-term financing that lets you put down the deposit on your next property before the sale money from your current one arrives. It plugs a timing gap that almost every HDB upgrader hits: you owe a downpayment in weeks, but your existing flat's sale proceeds and CPF refund only land at completion, often months later. Banks lend up to 20% of the new purchase price for up to six months, and DBS charges 4.25% per annum as of October 2026, its Prime Rate. Used right, it costs a few thousand dollars and saves you from selling first and renting in between. Used carelessly, the interest compounds and the six-month clock turns into real pressure.
When you buy a resale flat or a private home, the deposit is due fast. You pay the option fee on the Option to Purchase, then the balance of the downpayment when you exercise it, usually within a couple of weeks. But the cash and CPF tied up in your current property only come back to you when that sale legally completes, which can be two to four months later for HDB resale and longer for private deals.
The bridging loan covers that window. The bank advances the deposit now, and you repay it in one shot the moment your old home's proceeds hit. It is not meant to finance the whole purchase. It is a stop-gap on the downpayment portion only, sitting on top of your actual mortgage. For the long-term loan itself, run the numbers in our mortgage calculator so you size the monthly instalment correctly before you commit to the upgrade.
Banks generally offer two structures, so confirm which ones yours offers. The difference is purely about when you pay the interest, and it changes your cash flow more than your total bill.
With a capitalised-interest bridging loan, you pay nothing during the six months. The interest rolls up and is settled together with the principal when your sale completes. This protects your monthly cash flow during the move, which matters because you are also juggling renovation, legal fees and possibly two mortgages briefly. The trade-off is that interest accrues on a balance that includes the deferred interest.
With a simultaneous-repayment bridging loan, you service the interest each month alongside your new home loan. There is no roll-up, so you avoid interest piling on interest, and the total cost is marginally lower. It only works if you have the spare monthly cash to carry both payments at once.
| Feature | Capitalised interest | Simultaneous repayment |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly payment during loan | None | Interest paid monthly |
| When interest is settled | Lump sum at sale completion | Spread across the tenure |
| Interest-on-interest | Yes, small roll-up | No |
| Best for | Tight cash flow during the move | Buyers with comfortable monthly buffer |
| Total cost | Slightly higher | Slightly lower |
Update, 13 October 2026: this guide used to quote a 4.88% to 5.75% range pegged to SORA. DBS publishes its bridging rate on its rates page and charges 4.25% a year pegged to its own Prime Rate, so the figures below now use that. Bridging rates sit well above normal home-loan rates because the bank is taking on short-term, deposit-sized risk. As of October 2026, DBS prices its bridging loan at its Prime Rate of 4.25% per annum, for up to six months with no lock-in. Other banks quote their bridging rate when you apply, so ask each one for the figure in writing.
Because the tenure is short, the dollar cost is usually modest. Borrow S$200,000 at 4.25% for the full six months and you pay roughly S$4,250 in interest if you hold it the whole way. Settle your sale in three months instead, and you halve that to around S$2,125. The rate looks scary next to a 1.6% home loan, but you only carry the balance for weeks, not decades.
Watch the side fees, which can quietly outweigh the interest on a small or fast-cleared loan. Processing fees of around 1% are common but often waived when the bridging loan is bundled with the bank's home-loan package. Legal and valuation work can add S$1,500 to S$3,000. Before you assume a clean exit, check whether your CPF refund and cash proceeds fully cover the bridge, using the same logic you would for any property timing question covered in our HDB resale selling guide.
| Item | Typical figure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Interest rate | 4.25% p.a. at DBS | DBS Prime Rate; other banks quote on application |
| Tenure | Up to 6 months | Repaid at sale completion |
| Max loan amount | Up to 20% of new purchase price | Capped by expected net proceeds + CPF refund |
| Processing fee | ~1% of loan | Often waived with home-loan package |
| Legal + valuation | S$1,500-S$3,000 | Varies by property type and law firm |
| 6-month interest on S$200k @ 4.25% | ~S$4,250 | Lower if you clear the sale early |
The major banks all run bridging programmes, typically tied to taking your new home loan with them. DBS markets a bridging loan for up to 20% of the purchase price over up to six months, with interest either capitalised or paid monthly, and disbursement into a DBS or POSB account. Other banks set their own bridging terms and quote rates on application, so ask each one in writing. Always price the bridge as a package with the long-term mortgage rather than in isolation.
A point that confuses first-time upgraders: the HDB concessionary loan is not a bridging loan. The HDB loan is your long-term mortgage on an HDB flat, fixed at 2.6% per annum for 1 October to 31 December 2026, unchanged from the quarter before and pegged at 0.1% above the 2.5% CPF Ordinary Account rate. HDB itself does not bridge your deposit. If you are buying HDB and need a bridge, you go to a commercial bank for that short-term piece while keeping HDB or a bank for the main loan. If you are still deciding the main loan, weigh the trade-offs in our HDB loan vs bank loan comparison.
For private property, banks lend the bridge against the expected proceeds of the property you are selling, and you must already hold a valid Option to Purchase on the new home plus a signed sale agreement on the old one.
Bridging loans are open to Singapore Citizens, Permanent Residents and eligible foreigners who are selling a Singapore property. The non-negotiables are a valid Option to Purchase on the new home and a signed Option to Purchase or sale and purchase agreement on the one you are selling, so the bank can see where its repayment is coming from.
Crucially, the bridge does not escape the borrowing limits. A bank loan for your new home is still assessed against the 55% Total Debt Servicing Ratio, and for HDB flats and ECs also against the 30% Mortgage Servicing Ratio; an HDB loan is assessed on the 30% Mortgage Servicing Ratio. Banks stress-test affordability at a higher assessment rate than the one you will pay, so that a rate rise does not sink you. If the bridge pushes your commitments past those limits, the bank can shrink your main loan. Understand how TDSR and loan-to-value (LTV) interact before you sign anything.
The single biggest risk is a sale that drags past six months. If your old property does not complete in time, you still owe the bridge, so ask the bank in writing what happens if your sale has not completed by the end of the bridging period. Build a buffer: do not assume your flat sells the week you list it.
Bridging also temporarily lifts your debt load, which can constrain other borrowing during the move. And if your sale price comes in below expectations, the proceeds may not fully clear the bridge, leaving a shortfall to cover in cash.
Sometimes the cheapest bridge is no bridge. If you have enough cash and CPF on hand to fund the new deposit outright, skip it. If the timing genuinely cannot be reconciled, weigh selling first and renting briefly against bridging, the same buy-versus-wait tension we model in the rent vs buy calculator. The right answer depends on how confident you are about your sale timeline and price.
The standard tenure is up to six months. That window is meant to cover the gap between paying your new home's deposit and receiving the sale proceeds and CPF refund from your existing property at completion.
As of October 2026, DBS charges 4.25% per annum on its bridging loan, pegged to its Prime Rate, for up to six months. Other banks quote their rate when you apply, so confirm the exact figure with each bank in writing.
Yes. The principal is typically cleared from your existing property's sale proceeds, which include your CPF refund, when the sale completes. Interest is generally paid in cash. The CPF refund landing on time is what makes the bridge work.
No. The HDB loan is your long-term mortgage on an HDB flat, fixed at 2.6% per annum from 1 October to 31 December 2026. HDB does not bridge your deposit, so HDB upgraders needing a bridge approach a commercial bank for that short-term financing separately.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change, so verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.
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